For decades, the U.S. government has faced the challenge of storing nearly 100 tons of Cold War-era plutonium. This radioactive material, originally produced for atomic bombs, is currently held in high-security facilities. Now, the government has decided to engage private startups to dispose of a portion of this material and put it to productive use. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports .
The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that it has selected five nuclear startups and will begin negotiations with them regarding the supply of plutonium. These companies include Oklo, Standard Nuclear, Shine Technologies, Flibe Energy, and Exodys Energy. Under this project, the government plans to provide 34 tons of plutonium destined for disposal as fuel for next-generation reactors.
Oklo is working on reactors capable of running on both traditional uranium and plutonium. Notably, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright was previously a board member of Oklo but sold his shares upon his appointment. Additionally, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman chaired the company's board until last year.
Other startups, such as Exodys Energy and Flibe Energy, are developing technologies to use MOX (mixed oxide fuel), which consists of a blend of uranium and plutonium. Currently, MOX fuel is primarily produced in France. British company Newcleo, an Oklo partner, plans to build its own fuel production facility in the near future.
However, this initiative is not welcomed by all experts. Because plutonium is the basis for nuclear weapons, there are serious concerns regarding the safety of its transport and storage. According to Scott Roecker of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, other countries have tested this method but ultimately concluded that burying plutonium entirely is safer than using it as fuel.
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